Roger DeBlanck's Blog - Posts Tagged "music"

When you’re a writer, you’re always planning, developing, plotting, assessing. In other words, you’re always thinking about the current chapter, the next scene, an image, a description, a sequence of dialogue. Your investment never wavers, and that’s exactly how you want it. You want your heart to be racing, your mind whirring, as you seek out answers and truths to be depicted, conveyed, illuminated, perfected, and idealized in your story. Anything can be inspirational and motivational. For me, it is both the everyday world around me that might offer the spark I need, or it is often other art that serves as the stimulus. That’s why I’m always reading, listening to music, and watching movies that I believe will assist me with the cultivation of my ideas. And it works every time. Currently, I’m reading Anthony Doerr’s non-fiction Four Season in Rome. Few writers exhibit the type of command he has of language to express his vision with such beauty and grace. He is a writer to revere. I’ve read most of his fiction, and I now include his Pulitzer-winning novel, All the Light We Cannot See, among my all-time favorite books. He inspires and pushes me to keep working hard. Once I’m locked in, hard work becomes my muse.

Roger 8-)

Adele’s new album 25 has been a source of inspiration as I continue with my next novel. The lead track “Hello” is a glorious song. It is the powerhouse on a record that delves at the core of love, loss, pain, sorrow, compassion, and forgiveness. 25 is a somber record, but Adele explores her emotions and handles her content with great dignity and grace. She is honest, humble, vulnerable, and ultimately hopeful. I can only keep working as hard as I know artists such as Adele do to reach the heartfelt essence of their subject matter, a point we’re all striving to capture and convey.

The challenge for writers is that language can feel like an obstacle. How do we take the words we use every day in speech, communication, and interaction and make that language beautiful, unique, and original in our literary endeavors? I believe language becomes literature when we’re striving to create emotional impact. Music is the higher language. Music achieves pure emotion, which becomes the elevation of language. That is why when I’m writing I rely heavily on listening to my favorite musical artists as much as I do on reading and rereading the authors I admire. It’s a commitment to immersing myself in the creative process. Music helps me focus on the emotional bearing and mood I’m seeking to create with the reader.

Roger 8-)